This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text.
Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book
(without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.
1875 Excerpt: ...1st. The accumulated pus may discharge itself and
the abscess gradually dry up and disappear. 2d. The empty sac,
lined by pyogenic membrane, may for an unlimited time go on pouring
out pus. 3d. Small abscesses may form and discharge in one part,
then others may do so in another, until the whole pelvic areolar
tissue is perforated by them and by fistulous tracts connecting
them. There are various outlets for the imprisoned purulent
accumulation: 1st. Through the abdominal walls or saphenous
openings; 2d. Through the pelvic viscera, bladder, rectum, vagina,
urethra, or uterus; 3d. Through the floor of the pelvis near the
anus; 4th. Through the pelvic foramina, obturator, or
sacro-ischiatic; 5th. Through the pelvic roof into the peritoneal
cavity. Sometimes the purulent collection burrows into the
surrounding tissues and evacuates itself at a distance. In one case
which I saw with Dr. Echeverria, it passed through the sciatic
foramen, and burrowing upwards and forwards, came forth near the
great trochanter. It may thus take so eccentric a course as to
mislead the practitioner as to the seat of the abscess. The most
frequent channels of evacuation are the vagina and rectum, in the
non-puerperal form, and probably the abdominal walls in the
puerperal, or at least the results of Dr. McClintockV carefully
noted cases would lead us to believe so. In 37 puerperal cases
treated by him which ended in suppuration, 20 abscesses discharged
in the iliac regions, 2 above the pubes, 1 hi the inguinal region,
and 1 beside the anus. Of the remaining 13; 6 were discharged per
vaginam, 5 per anum, and 2 burst into the bladder. In the
non-puerperal variety it is extremely rare for the abscess to
discharge externally, and fortunately in both forms it is rare for
it to burst into ...